Posted on 02/09/22
| News Source: i24
Ehud Olmert must pay some $2,300 in costs related to the request
Israel's former prime minister Ehud Olmert's request for the Netanyahu family to undergo a psychiatric evaluation was rejected Wednesday by the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court.
The request comes from a defamation lawsuit filed against Olmert for calling the Netanyahu family "mentally ill" in interviews. The suit seeks roughly $261,000 in damage for Olmert's “obsessive efforts to harm their good name in public, out of jealousy and deep frustration.”
Olmert's request sought access to "any relevant documents" regarding the family's mental health, seen as a longshot by Olmert's lawyers, according to The Times of Israel.
The court accepted Netanyahu's argument that the motion was an attempt at fishing for evidence, with Netanyahu calling the request extortion to invade personal details.
Netanyahu's family was ordered by the court to answer some questions in a questionnaire sent by Olmert, but not questions concerning mental health.
Olmert was ordered to pay some $2,300 in costs related to the request.
He rejected the idea he could apologize to the family last month, arguing that he was expressing a widely held opinion.
“What is irreparable is the mental illness of the prime minister, his wife, and his son,” he said in interviews, referring to Yair Netanyahu, ToI reported.
“They are in need of psychiatric treatment.”